DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 10, 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
(1) Regarding claim 6:
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the network device" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
(2) Regarding claim 10:
Line 10 recites “receiving a first response returned by the first request”; it is unclear how a first request can return the first response; the examiner suggests amending to “receiving a first response returned by the AMF”.
(3) Regarding claim 19:
Line 7 recites “based on a third response returned by the third request”; it is unclear how a third response can be returned by the third response; the examiner suggests amending to “based on a third response returned by the AMF”.
(4) Regarding claim 20:
Line 4 recites “the third response returned by the third request”; unclear how a third response can be returned by the third response; the examiner suggests amending to “based on a third response returned by the AMF”.
(5) Regarding claim 32:
Line 4 recites “determining current state information of the executor”, it is unclear which executor is referred to in claim 31 including “available executor, expected executor, or the target executor”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1-4, 24-25, 27, 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jang et al. (US 2023/0362990 A1).
(1) Regarding claim 24:
Jang discloses an information processing method, performed by an initiator of a sensing service (first STA broadcasts a sensing request frame, para. 0009, 0130), comprising:
sending a sensing service request to a sensing function network entity, wherein the sensing service request indicates an expected executor for providing the sensing service (first STA broadcasts a sensing request frame, para. 0009; the sensing request includes STA identifier information, STA identifier information includes identifiers of the second and third STAs, para. 0011, a method of transmitting a SENS Request independently to each SENS STA and a method of transmitting a SENS Request to a plurality of SENS STAs in a broadcast/multicast manner, para. 0146).
(2) Regarding claim 25:
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 24, and further discloses receiving a sensing service response (That is, in this embodiment, the sensing request frame indicates an identifier (ID) of an STA to receive a sensing response frame and RU allocation information, the STA corresponding to the identifier of the STA receives the sensing request frame, and transmits the sensing response frame after SIPS through the allocated RU, para. 0013).
(3) Regarding claim 27:
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 24, and further discloses sending the sensing service request to the sensing function network entity comprises:
in response to that the expected executor is determined (Looking at the procedure of wireless LAN sensing, discovery, negotiation, measurement exchange, and tear down are performed between the wireless LAN sensing initiate device and the participating device. Discovery is a process of identifying the sensing capabilities of WLAN devices, negotiation is a process of determining a sensing parameter between a sensing initiate device and a participating device, para. 0097), sending the sensing service request containing information of the expected executor to the sensing function network entity (first STA broadcasts a sensing request frame, para. 0009; the sensing request includes STA identifier information, STA identifier information includes identifiers of the second and third STAs, para. 0011).
(4) Regarding claim 31:
Jang discloses an information processing method, performed by an available executor that is capable of providing a sensing service, comprising:
receiving a request sent by a sensing function network entity (STA2 and STA2 receive SENS RQSTA from STA1, para. 0179), wherein the available executor is an expected executor indicated by the sensing function network entity according to a sensing service request (When sending a SENS request, the STA indicates the STA ID that wants a response, para. 0183), or the available executor is determined by the sensing function network entity and located in a target area of the sensing service;
determining whether the available executor is willing to be a target executor of the sensing service according to the request (Negotiation phase can be done through exchange by defining a new negotiation frame like ADDBA request/response frame for existing BA (Block Acknowledgment) agreement, para. 0136; In this specification, a frame transmitted by an STA starting negotiation is referred to as a SENS request frame, and a frame transmitted by an STA responding thereto is referred to as a SENS response frame. In addition, a SENS STA transmitting a SENS Request frame is referred to as a SENS RQSTA, and a SENS STA transmitting a SENS Response frame is referred to as a SENS RPSTA, para. 0137; In the above methods, the SENS RPSTA (e.g., STA 2, STA 3) may not receive the SENS Request or the SENS RQSTA (e.g., STA 1) may not receive the transmitted SENS Response. Accordingly, the SENS RQSTA may continuously transmit SENS Requests, which may result in a lengthy entire negotiation process or insufficient STAs participating in sensing due to repeated transmission to the same STA. Therefore, SESN RQSTA may apply an appropriate timeout value for each SENS RPSTA, para. 0168, 0170-0171; the examiner interprets the negotiation process with the insufficient STAs participating in sensing as the claimed determining whether the available executor is willing to be a target executor step); and
sending a response to the sensing function network entity according to whether the available executor is willing to be the target executor (when STA overcome the issues such as coverage due to channel conditions, STA2 or STA3 send a SENS response frame to STA1, para. 0149).
(5) Regarding claim 32:
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 31, and further discloses determining whether the available executor is willing to be the target executor of the sensing service according to the fourth request further comprises:
determining current state information of the executor according to the request (Wireless LAN sensing can be classified as “CSI-based sensing that uses channel state information of a signal that arrives at a receiver through a channel from a transmitter” and “Radar-based sensing that uses a signal received after a transmitted signal is reflected by an object”. In addition, each sensing technology includes a method in which a sensing transmitter directly participates in the sensing process (coordinated CSI, active radar) and a method in which the sensing transmitter does not participate in the sensing process, that is, there is no dedicated transmitter participating in the sensing process (un-coordinated CSI, passive radar), para. 0099); and
determining whether the available executor is willing to be the target executor of the sensing service according to the current state information (STAs other than the intended receiver need to overhear Negotiation completion information through Timer information or explicit indicators. However, due to issues such as coverage due to channel conditions, we cannot guarantee that this information will always be decoded, para. 0171; if the STA1 receives a response from STA2 or STA3, that indicates that the target executor (STA2 or STA3) is willing to be the target executor of the sensing service based on the channel condition).
(6) Regarding claim 1:
Jang discloses an information processing method, performed by a sensing function network entity, comprising:
determining one or more candidate executors of a sensing service (Looking at the procedure of wireless LAN sensing, discovery, negotiation, measurement exchange, and tear down are performed between the wireless LAN sensing initiate device and the participating device. Discovery is a process of identifying the sensing capabilities of WLAN devices, negotiation is a process of determining a sensing parameter between a sensing initiate device and a participating device, para. 0097), wherein the candidate executors comprise at least one of an expected executor of the sensing service () or an alternative executor discovered by a network; and
determining a target executor of the sensing service according to the candidate executors (first STA broadcasts a sensing request frame, para. 0009; the sensing request includes STA identifier information, STA identifier information includes identifiers of the second and third STAs, para. 0011; Discovery is a process of identifying the sensing capabilities of WLAN devices, negotiation is a process of determining a sensing parameter between a sensing initiate device and a participating device, and measurement value exchange is a process of transmitting a sensing PPDU and transmitting a sensing measurement result, and connecting release is the process of terminating the sensing procedure, para. 0097; STAs other than the intended receiver need to overhear Negotiation completion information through Timer information or explicit indicators. However, due to issues such as coverage due to channel conditions, we cannot guarantee that this information will always be decoded, para. 0171).
(7) Regarding claim 2:
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses determining the one or more candidate executors comprises:
determining the expected executor; or
in response to that the expected executor is not determined, discovering the alternative executor (depending on the channel condition, it may be independently transmitted to SENS STAs at the initial stage of negotiation, and then transmitted to multiple SENS STAs by switching the transmission mode, para. 0147; the examiner interprets broadcast the switching to broadcast mode as the claimed discovering the alternative executor).
(8) Regarding claim 3:
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 2, and further discloses determining the expected executor comprises:
determining the expected executor according to a sensing service request (Negotiation phase can be done through exchange by defining a new negotiation frame like ADDBA request/response frame for existing BA (Block Acknowledgment) agreement. In this specification, a frame transmitted by an STA starting negotiation is referred to as a SENS request frame, and a frame transmitted by an STA responding thereto is referred to as a SENS response frame. In addition, a SENS STA transmitting a SENS Request frame is referred to as a SENS RQSTA, and a SENS STA transmitting a SENS Response frame is referred to as a SENS RPSTA), para. 0136-0137).
(9) Regarding claim 4:
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 3, and further discloses:
returning a sensing service response to an initiator of the sensing service according to a determination result of the target executor (a frame transmitted by an STA starting negotiation is referred to as a SENS request frame, and a frame transmitted by an STA responding thereto is referred to as a SENS response frame. In addition, a SENS STA transmitting a SENS Request frame is referred to as a SENS RQSTA, and a SENS STA transmitting a SENS Response frame is referred to as a SENS RPSTA, para. 0137; there may be a method of transmitting a SENS Request independently to each SENS STA, para. 0146);
wherein the sensing service response indicates whether the expected executor is the target executor for providing the sensing service; or
the sensing service response indicates whether the expected executor is capable of performing the sensing service (Setup Phase (Capability Advertisement & Negotiation): A phase of exchanging sensing-related capabilities and forming an association. Through this process, STAs can perform association by determining whether sensing is possible and whether they have appropriate sensing capabilities. The Setup Phase may also be named Discovery & Association Phase, para. 0125).
Claim 1-4, 8, 12, 14, 15, 24-25, 27, and 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chong (US 2024/0236935 A1).
(1) Regarding claim 24:
Chong discloses an information processing method, performed by an initiator of a sensing service, comprising:
sending a sensing service request to a sensing function network entity (A service object (Consumer UE) transmits an application layer message to an AF, where the application layer message carries an ID of the service object and sensing service description information. Step 1a: The AF triggers a sensing service request (There are two modes. In the first mode, the AF transmits a sensing service request message to a sensing control function (SCF) network element. In the second mode, the AF first transmits a sensing service request message to an AMF network clement and then the AMF network element forwards the sensing service request message to the SCF network element). Or, Step 1b: The Consumer UE triggers the sensing service request (There are two implementation modes. In the first implementation mode, the Consumer UE directly transmits the sensing service request message to the SCF network element. In the second implementation mode, the Consumer UE first transmits the sensing service request message to the AMF network element, and then the AMF network element forwards the sensing service request message to the SCF network element), para. 110-112; ), wherein the sensing service request indicates an expected executor for providing the sensing service (Step 2: The SCF network element transmits Namf_Communication_N1 N2 Message Transfer (sensing service message) to the AMF network element. Step 3: The AMF network element transmits the sensing service message to a sensing UE, para. 0114-0115).
(2) Regarding claim 25:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 24, and further discloses receiving a sensing service response (Step 4: The sensing UE performs sensing measurement. Step 5: The sensing UE reports a measurement result, para. 0120-0129).
(3) Regarding claim 27:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 24, and further discloses
in response to that the expected executor is determined, sending the sensing service request containing information of the expected executor to the sensing function network entity (the first network element further needs to select one or more sensing control function network elements and/or sensing devices that can satisfy, according to at least one information in the first sensing service request message, the information. For example, the AMF further needs to select one or more SCFs satisfying the information based on at least one of the following information in the first sensing service request message, para. 0214-0216).
(4) Regarding claim 31:
Chong discloses an information processing method, performed by an available executor that is capable of providing a sensing service, comprising:
receiving a request sent by a sensing function network entity (step 4 in figure 8, sensing service request (AOI, UE ID list, RAN ID list, sensing service description, para. 0410), wherein the available executor is an expected executor indicated by the sensing function network entity according to a sensing service request, or the available executor is determined by the sensing function network entity and located in a target area of the sensing service (the AMF transmits an identifier of the sensing device to the SCF, whereby the SCF transmits sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the sensing device subsequently, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the sensing service process, para. 0407);
determining whether the available executor is willing to be a target executor of the sensing service according to the request (The SCF and the sensing UE/RAN in the network interact in terms of service sensing capability information. The sensing UE/RAN in the network may be all sensing UE/RANs in the entire network, or sensing UE/RANs in the partial network. The partial network may be limited to the AOI range acquired in step 4 or may not be limited thereto. Optionally, the partial network may be a serving area of the SCF. In other words, the SCF and the sensing UE/RAN within the sensing area may interact in terms of service sensing capability information. In one implementation, trigger scenarios where the sensing UE reports own service sensing capability information to the SCF include but are not limited to at least one of the following: initially entering a serving area of the SCF; the Sensing UE establishes a device-to-device connection with the SCF; the sensing UE periodically updates a sensing service capability in the serving area of the SCF; a sensing service capability of the sensing UE changes; or the AMF/SF/RAN issues a service sensing capability information acquisition request to the sensing UE, para. 0411-420); and
sending a response to the sensing function network entity according to whether the available executor is willing to be the target executor (The Sensing UE reports the service sensing capability information to the SCF similar to that described in step 4 of FIG. 7, para. 420).
(5) Regarding claim 32:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 31, and further discloses
determining current state information of the executor according to the fourth request (The Sensing UE reports the service sensing capability information to the SCF similar to that described in step 4 of FIG. 7, para. 0420-0426); and
determining whether the available executor is willing to be the target executor of the sensing service according to the current state information (After the above steps, the AMF selects a suitable SCF for the sensing service of the consumer UE, and the SCF selects the sensing device, whereby the SCF transmits sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the sensing device subsequently, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the sensing service process, para. 0427).
(6) Regarding claim 1:
Chong discloses an information processing method, performed by a sensing function network entity, comprising:
determining one or more candidate executors of a sensing service, wherein the candidate executors comprise at least one of an expected executor of the sensing service (The AMF forwards a sensing service request message to the SCF, where the sensing service request message carries at least one of the following: second sensing service description information; information of a first area (AOI); or identification information of a candidate sensing device in the first area, para. 0410) or an alternative executor discovered by a network; and
determining a target executor of the sensing service according to the candidate executors (The service sensing capability information reported by the sensing RAN to the SCF is similar to the service sensing capability information of the sensing UE in the foregoing embodiments and will not be repeated herein. After the above steps, the AMF selects a suitable SCF for the sensing service of the consumer UE, and the SCF selects the sensing device, whereby the SCF transmits sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the sensing device subsequently, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the sensing service process, para. 0426-0427).
(7) Regarding claim 2:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses:
determining the expected executor (The AMF selects a suitable target SCF network element for the sensing service of the first user equipment, and transmits a third sensing service request message to the target SCF network element, para. 0280); or
in response to that the expected executor is not determined, discovering the alternative executor.
(8) Regarding claim 3:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 2, and further discloses:
determining the expected executor according to a sensing service request (step 4 in figure 8, sensing service request (AOI, UE ID list, RAN ID list, sensing service description, para. 0410), wherein the available executor is an expected executor indicated by the sensing function network entity according to a sensing service request, or the available executor is determined by the sensing function network entity and located in a target area of the sensing service (the AMF transmits an identifier of the sensing device to the SCF, whereby the SCF transmits sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the sensing device subsequently, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the sensing service process, para. 0407).
(9) Regarding claim 4:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 3, and further discloses:
returning a sensing service response to an initiator of the sensing service according to a determination result of the target executor (The service sensing capability information reported by the sensing RAN to the SCF is similar to the service sensing capability information of the sensing UE in the foregoing embodiments and will not be repeated herein. After the above steps, the AMF selects a suitable SCF for the sensing service of the consumer UE, and the SCF selects the sensing device, whereby the SCF transmits sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the sensing device subsequently, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the sensing service process, para. 0426-0427);
wherein the sensing service response indicates whether the expected executor is the target executor for providing the sensing service; or
the sensing service response indicates whether the expected executor is capable of performing the sensing service (The service sensing capability information reported by the sensing RAN to the SCF is similar to the service sensing capability information of the sensing UE, para. 0426).
(10) Regarding claim 8:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 2, and further discloses:
receiving, by a first network element, a first request message, where the first request message is used for requesting to acquire identification information of a sensing device in a sensing serving area corresponding to a first user equipment; determining, by the first network element, information of a first area according to location information of the first user equipment, and acquiring identification information of a candidate sensing device in the first area; and transmitting, by the first network element, a first request response message, where the first request response message carries the identification information of the candidate sensing device in the first area, para. 0022-0025.
(11) Regarding claim 12:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and Chong further discloses:
determining a sensing mode of the sensing service (Trigger scenarios where the sensing UE reports own service sensing capability information to the AMF include but are not limited to at least one of the following: initially entering the AMF serving area (initial registration); the sensing UE performs mobility registration in the AMF serving area; a sensing service capability of the sensing UE changes; or the AMF/SF/RAN issues a service sensing capability information acquisition request to the sensing UE, para. 0382-0397; the examiner interprets the service sensing capability information as the claimed sensing mode); and
selecting the target executor from the candidate executors according to the sensing mode (The AMF selects the sensing UE/RAN in the AOI as the target sensing measurement device of the sensing service according to the sensing service request message and the capability information of the sensing UE/RAN, para. 0403).
(12) Regarding claim 14:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and Chong further discloses:
determining an available executor from the candidate executors (The AMF interacts service sensing capability information with a sensing device in a network. The sensing device in the network here includes a sensing UE and/or a sensing RAN within an AMF serving area, para. 0380-0381); and
determining whether the available executor is willing to serve as the target executor (Trigger scenarios where the sensing UE reports own service sensing capability information to the AMF include but are not limited to at least one of the following: initially entering the AMF serving area (initial registration); the sensing UE performs mobility registration in the AMF serving area; a sensing service capability of the sensing UE changes; or the AMF/SF/RAN issues a service sensing capability information acquisition request to the sensing UE, para. 0382-0397; the examiner interprets the service sensing capability information as the claimed willing to serve as the target executor).
(13) Regarding claim 15:
Chong discloses all subject matter of claim 14, and further discloses:
in response to that the candidate executors comprise a user equipment (UE), sending a second request to a user data management (UDM) (In the other implementation, the first network element selects the target sensing control function network element and/or the target sensing device according to the information of the first area, including: The first network element queries the target sensing control function network clement and/or the target sensing device from a network repository function network element according to the information of the first area. Optionally, the network repository function network element is an NRF network element. It should be noted that the NRF network element may also be replaced by other network elements with repository functions such as unified data management (UDM) and unified data repository (UDR). The NRF network element will be described below, which is not limited to this application. A query request transmitted by the first network clement to the NRF carries corresponding query conditions. The query conditions may include at least one of the following: the information of the first area, or the service sensing attribute and capability information, para. 0232-0234);
receiving a second response returned based on the second request (the NRF returns the target sensing control function network element and/or the target sensing device to the first network element according to the query request, para. 0238); and
determining whether the UE is the available executor according to the second response (The first network element transmits a second sensing service request message to the target sensing control function network element in a case that the first network element selects the target sensing device. The second sensing service request message includes: second sensing service description information and identification information of the target sensing device, where the second sensing service description information is generated according to the first sensing service description information. It will be understood that the second sensing service request message is used for requesting the target sensing control function network element to transmit sensing resource configuration information, a sensing measurement task, and sensing measurement control information to the target sensing device, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the sensing service process, para. 0259-0261).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2023/0362990 A1) in view of Chong (US 2024/0236935 A1).
Jang discloses all subject matter of claim 2, but fails to disclose determining a target area for providing the sensing service according to a sensing service request; and determining at least one of a base station and/or or a user equipment (UE) located in the target area as the alternative executor.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Chong discloses a sensing service processing method is provided; the method is applied to a first network element and includes: receiving, by a first network element, a first request message, where the first request message is used for requesting to acquire identification information of a sensing device in a sensing serving area corresponding to a first user equipment; determining, by the first network element, information of a first area according to location information of the first user equipment, and acquiring identification information of a candidate sensing device in the first area; and transmitting, by the first network element, a first request response message, where the first request response message carries the identification information of the candidate sensing device in the first area, para. 0022-0025.
It is desirable to determine a target area for providing the sensing service according to a sensing service request; and determining at least one of a base station and/or or a user equipment (UE) located in the target area as the alternative executor because it enables the selection of the reachable UE for the sensing service. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Chong in the method of Jang for the benefit of having sensing service with reachable UE.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16 and 22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wu et al. (US 2022/0304081 A1) discloses method and apparatus for providing WLAN sensing service, terminal device, and storage medium.
Mandelli et al. (US 2023/0232273 A1) discloses allocating resource for communication and sensing services.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIU M LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1083. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 8:30-7:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chieh M Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SIU M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632 7/29/2026
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